Last night was the first episode past the pilot movie, and I have to say they are taking it in some interesting ways I wouldn’t have anticipate.
However, I won’t be reviewing new episodes each week (at least for now). This show is tonally very different than BSG – and not much happens arc-wise each episode, as this show is much more character driven. It could easily turn into a soap opera (it’s kinda sorta already halfway there), and the acting is mixed. However, I was fascinated anyway.

I recommend y’all watch the series. Last night’s episode was good enough that it gets my tenative recommendation. We’ll see if it lasts.

We are now one week away from the first episode of the last season of Lost. I’m both excited and skeptical.

NOTE: The post below is (I hope) free of Season Six spoilers. Please try to keep it that way in the comments.

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The art of family entertainment is one of the most difficult to succeed at. To make a product that gives enjoyment and satisfaction to children and adults alike is something usually only the Muppets can achieve.

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Brendan Benson is a different sort of cat. He has a pretty folkie image, plays an acoustic guitar a lot, lives in Nashville. But every now and then, he picks up his electric guitar and reminds you that he grew up in Detroit and hangs out with Jack White. (more…)

I reviewed the “uncut” DVD of the premier here.

For those who haven’t seen the DVD and will watch it tonight (or delayed on some DVR), here’s a place to discuss it.  Here’s the conclusion of what I concluded in that older review:

Overall, I enjoyed the movie – enough so that I look forward to the series.  There are a few discrepancies – for a series set almost 60 years before BSG, some of the technology seems more advanced than what BSG had access to, and some of it seems to have hardly changed at all.

The character dramas are compelling, though.  This is a very different series than the BSG that just ended.  It’s Dallas and the Sopranos set in space, as I said above.

The only sour spot is that Ron Moore (once again, as in the New Caprica storyline) seems to justify suicide bombing as a legitimate means of social protest.  However, as this is only the pilot, it’s hard to see where he is going with this underground monotheistic cult, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that as the series progresses this will be addressed.

A highly recommended view, though it’s not for kids.  I’m sure the edited for TV version will be more family friendly, though.

I recently read the book, by Alice Sebold, and while it kept me captivated, I thought the ending was completely lame. It didn’t make me disappointed I’d read the book, though. Just wished it had ended differently.

As I read the book I kept wondering how it’d be handled as a movie.
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Take a bunch of high-concept ’80s action TV shows (e.g., the A-Team, The Equalizer, MacGyver) and mix them together with some genre action movies (James Bond, Die Hard), throw in a good cast and some decent effects and stunts, stir with with the depth and sensibilities of a comic book and what do you have? A pretty decent show. Entertaining enough, certainly, provided you can turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.

I kind of like it.
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Hey! Your tape.  lt´s good.

I know. We made it. 

I  mean, it´s rough, but, unbelievably, it shows promise.  I’ll put out your record.  Any profits we split down the middle after I recoup expenses, okay?

Recoup expenses?  Man, you´re gonna recoup a big, fat Mercedes is what you´re gonna do.

We´re not there yet, Justin.

I’m Vince.

Whatever.

                                                      -High Fidelity

The brave new world of the music business just gave us another interesting peek behind the curtain through this open letter from the band OK Go. (more…)

OK, I know this has been out for awhile. But I just saw it. They are broadcasting the heck out of it before the season premier of Caprica. Presumably in hopes of cleansing the bad taste many of us had with the finale and the last two seasons of BSG in general. Because, in my humble opinion, this was actually pretty good.

I’ve always enjoyed the “one off” two hour movies outside of the regular series of BSG. They seemed to often flow better than the series proper. Further they give a lot more back story and make minor characters much more understandable. This one is no different. It really does explain the Cylons and their actions.

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Well an other week an other… What? Meltdown at NBC? Holy cow. I can’t believe the drama. I’m sure you’ve all seen the clips from Letterman, Conan, and so forth. Letterman’s have thus far been the funniest. But, man. Conan is brutal to NBC. I, like nearly everyone, thinks Conan was treated like crap. (He waited 6 years for this promise only to have Leno back out of the deal?!?) The latest on the actual battle between Conan and NBC’s Zucker is here if you really need to follow the drama.

On TV we got THREE new episodes of Chuck. They were all pretty good although I’m really disappointed that they are bringing back the Best Buy and the Nerd Herd. That joke had kind of worn itself out. There was a shocking death though I didn’t see coming. And kind of brutal for the normal tone of the show.

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I’ve picked the most popular (or unpopular) of your nominations. Vote now! Poll is open for a week.

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I’m back for more abuse!

For those of you new to our little game, I announce a theme, you name the worst movies ever made on that theme (that are available via Netflix). We hold a poll, and then I watch and review that horrible movie. The last one was, I believe, Gymkata (the theme was Martial Arts).

The theme this time is: Disaster Movie. I nominate the Howie Long vehicle, FIRESTORM. Nic Cage’s KNOWING and M. Night’s THE HAPPENING are also in the running. Your picks?

OK, I just had to rant on this one. The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen. Up near the top is Avatar.

Now there is a lot to praise Avatar for as it races to beat the billion dollar mark in sales. However best screenplay just isn’t one of them. I’d say worst screenplay, except I think Transformers has a lock on that one.

For the last several months, I’ve been obsessed with baking bread. There’s something really satisfying about making yeast breads. It feels like rediscovering a lost art, and a science. I’ve noticed a trend among people my age and younger to take an interest in things our grandparents did out of necessity. (Note the preponderance of knitting hipsters, for example.) Then again, on another completely different level, it’s just about pleasure. There’s nothing that compares to the smell and taste of fresh-baked bread, and it’s very satisfying to have made that bread from scratch.

For many years prior to my recent obsession, I’ve enjoyed cooking, including baking. But I believed that yeast breads were beyond my ability. After returning from a trip to New York City, I decided that I needed to try my hand at pizza dough. This morphed into a full-blown preoccupation with yeast doughs and bread baking that took hold and hasn’t yet let up, and will probably carry me through at least until Lost begins again next month. What follows are a few practical tips and tricks I’ve learned over the past several months.
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Ok, here it is, because you demanded it: The list of the top albms of 2009. I was hoping we could do this in a dialogue like last year, or maybe a KulturCast, but that doesn’t seem like it’s happening. So, without further ado, and in no particular order (I’ll let you argue over that), I give you the best albums of 2009: (more…)

I was really out of it for most of 2009 when it comes to new music. So I’m hoping I can get caught up by checking out what everyone’s faves were this year.

Here are mine:
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Party games are an interesting breed. Their primary goal is not necessarily to make for a good competition, have an immersive thematic experience or even to provide an interesting game play. No, party games really just want you to have fun!

The problem is if these other elements are too scarce most people find the experience stale and lack motivation to make it enjoyable for themselves or anyone else. A good party game maintains balance, keeping frivolity as its primary goal while still providing an enjoyable competitive experience. Say Anything is just such a game. (more…)

OK, we’ve not done a television post for a while. A few thoughts.

It’s been a mixed season thus far. Many shows had some fantastic shows and then fell back into ruts. House was like that. A real rethinking of the character through new experiences and then fell into the rut of trying to maintain old sexual tension. Dexter was good, but not great in my opinion. (Despite some strong episodes) Over all it was lacking that satirical critique element that made previous seasons so interesting. Instead it became clumsy and heavy handed. (What? Families that appear great might not be underneath? You feel trapped in the suburbs. It’s almost like someone was aping Sam Mendes but without the style.)

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Two recent customer service experiences have highlighted for me the delicate art of taking care of the customer. You’d think it would not be a complicated experience, and yet so many companies completely fail at the task! As consumers it is easy to just take whatever you’re given, like a mindless automaton in some cafeteria line, but our money is powerful and we shouldn’t hesitate, in my opinion, to get what we pay for with it.

So for your amusement, two customer service experiences: one with Regal Entertainment movie theaters, and the other with McDonald’s. (more…)

I just did an expanded version of this on my personal blog and thought I’d share some of my favorite shots from this year on KB as well. But I’m paring it down quite a bit here and adding some details. (I tried to narrow it down to 24, like two shots per month, but couldn’t quite do it.)

These aren’t in any kind of ranked order. They’re actually in the order I took them throughout the year. Most of the titles come from song lyrics. Extra points if you can identify them.

1. Never – Niland, CA

If you’ve never heard of the Salton Sea or Salvation Mountain in particular, you should google it sometime. Watch some youtube footage. Really fascinating place.
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